Liquid dispenser



LIQUID DISPENSER Filed Oct. 14, 1958 a Sheets-Sheet 1 Oct. 24, 1939.' c.w. CROWELL LIQUID DYISPENSER Filed Oct. 14, 1938 3 Sheets-Sheet 5INVENTOR. ba /7a H Gama/Z ATTORNEY.

Patented Oct. 24, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE LIQUID DISPENSER.Application October 14, 1988, Serial No. 235,031

7 Claims.

7 assembled and manipulated during the process of refilling. Theimprovements are directed in part toward providing a wall supportedbacking having a casing-cover normally locked against the same toconfine the mechanism, whiny cover is held out of the way duringrefilling toward the means for retaining a reservoir on e backing, saidmeans also functioning with respect to the last mentioned feature;toward means for regulating the flow of stored liquid in the reservoirto an open distributing pan to niaintain a predetermined level in thelatter at all times, said means also contributing to the refillingfacilities; toward a novel wick arrangement for regulating capillaryflow of .the liquid from the distributing pan, and toward a device inconnection with the latter for enacting deodorizing distribution throughevaporation. To these and other ends, the invention resides in certainimprovementsand combinations of parts, all as will be hereinafter morefully described, the novel features being pointed out in the claims atthe end of this specification.

In the drawings:

Fig. '1 is a front elevation of a dispenser constructed in accordancewith and illustrating one embodiment of my invention, the upper portionthereof being in transverse section through the casing element to revealinterior parts;

Fig. 2 is aside elevation of the device attached to a wall and with thecasing-cover raised out of the way, as inrefilling, a portion of thecasing being in section from front to rear and the interior parts beingremoved to better show sup porting devices on the back plate;

Fig. 3 is a front elevation of the entire assembly with the casing-coverin the open position of Fig. 2 and partly broken away in section, a wallof the distributing pan and other parts at the bottom being alsopartially broken away;

Fig. .4 is a side view of the assembly of Fig. 3 closed and with partspartially broken away or in partial section in a plane from front torear;

Fig. -5 is a rear view of the assembled device on a slightly. reducedscale from that of the preceding figures;

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary transverse sectional view through thedistributing tray and adjacent parts on a slightly enlarged scale;

Fig. '7 is a top plan view partially broken away of the valve cap on themouth of the reservoir;

Fig. 8 is a central vertical section from front to rear through thedistributing pan and evaporator and in another plane through the wicksupport and adjuster on the lines 8--8 and 8 8 of Fig. 6, respectively;

Fig. 9 is a top plan view of the distributing pan, wick and evaporatingunit, and

Fig. 10 is a detail view of the latch for holding the cover-casing inplace.

Similar reference numerals throughout the several views indicate thesame parts.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, it is customary to mountdispensing apparatus of this kind fixedly on a wall or upright and, inthe present instance, a combined capillary and gravitational flow fromsuch a point is induced through a conveying pipe to the point ofapplication at a lower level. To this end, I provide in this embodimenta stiff sheet metal back plate I having openings 2 for the fasteningmeans. At

the front is a forwardly projecting cover-casing 3 hinged to'the backplate at the top, as indicated at 4. A latch 5 on the bottom of thecover-casing shown in detail in Fig. 10 through the application of asuitable spanner (Fig. 3) to its stud 6 engages an offset keeper lug 1at the bottom of the back plate to prevent casual tampering. The entiremechanism with the exception of the conveyor or lead pipe 8 that extendsthrough the bottom of the casing is enclosed therein.

When it is desired to gain access to the interior parts, the casing israised to the horizontal position of Figs. 2 and 3 where it permits freemanipulation of the working parts, as hereinafter described. The coveris temporarily maintained in this raised open postion by a wire bail 9pivoted on forwardly struck lugs H} on the back plate and engagingtemporarily, as a prop, undercut lugs H formed on the interior of thetop of the casing. When not so engaged, this bail has another functionwhich will presently appear.

Near the bottom of the back plate are struck inwardly therefrom a forkedbracket arm 12, a pair of supporting arms I3 beneath it and a relativelylaterally arranged lug I4, as clearly appears in Fig. 2. Furthermarginal flanges l5 at each side are merely for the purpose of centeringthe cover bracket against the back plate and holding it secure againstlateral displacement.

Supported on the arms I3 is a preferably cast glass tray 16 ofsubstantially rectangular proportions. It has a lug I! on its undersideat the left rear taking into a cut-away portion of that arm l3 and isindented at 18 to accommodate the supporting lug 14 so that it heldagainst displacement in all directions but may be removed through anupward and forward movement.

Supported on the forked bracket I2 is a reservoir l9, in the presentform of an inverted bottle,

the shoulders of which may rest loosely in the yoke and the forward endsof the arms of which are bent upwardly, as shown in Fig. 3, to retainitfrom that direction; When the bail 9 is not in use as a prop for thecasing, as previously explained, it is dropped down over the reservoir,as in Figs. 1 and 4, and retains the latter in a normal operativeposition against the back plate and against both forward and lateralmovement though it is permitted vertical movement.

Referring to Figs. 3, 6 and 7, at the mouth of the bottle is a stopper2!] lined with a soft gasket 2| that makes tight contact with the rim ofthe mouth. It is so held in place by integral spring clips 22 that snapover the exterior ledge on the bottle mouth. The gasket surrounds avalve cage 23 containing a valve 24 and its spring 25 that tends to urgeit to its seat 26 in the cap, such seat forming an' opening throughwhich the contents of the bottle can pass from the cage 23 which islaterally open, as indicated at 21 in Fig. 7. A valve stem extendingthrough the valve has aguiding portion 28 in the cage and an operatingportion 29 projecting through and beyond the seat opening.

The element I6 is an open distributing tray for the contents of thereservoir, which latter, of course, has to be refilled from time totime. The valved cap becomes useful in this operation for after thebottle is filled with liquid through removal of the cap and is invertedand replaced in operative position, the valve prevents spilling andleakage until the relationship of Figs. 3 and 6 is established with themouth of the bottle within the distributing tray. Thereupon, the valveis unseated through engagement of the stem portion 29 thereof with thebottom of the tray induced by the weight of the bottle and contents andthe liquid flows from the reservoir into the tray until it rises to alevel that seals the seat and opening 26. This is substantially thedesired permanent level of liquid within the tray and as it is drawntherefrom in the manner hereinafter described, it is automaticallyreplenished from the reservoir on a well-known principle.

The liquid used in such instances is a pleasantly odorous orneutralizing disinfectant and means are provided for both feeding itfrom the distributing pan as a fluid and disseminating it as a gas inthe atmosphere. For the latter purpose, I place in the pan to rest onone edge a folded or looped strip or sleeve of absorbent material suchas the felt 30. Through its interior runs an inert reenforcing Wire 3!which holds it in the desired form when saturated. This evaporatingelement rises above the liquid level so that it has a substantialsurface exposed to the air and which partially surrounds the mouth ofthe reservoir bottle. However, it is desirable to keep it out of contactwith the walls of the tray and I, therefore, cast in the bottom of thelater spacing lugs 32, clearly shown in Fig. 9. Oherwise by capillaryaction, the liquid would creep onto and over the rim of the tray andbecome objectionable through collecting dust and for other obviousreasons.

Because of this evaporation feature or gas distribution, the protectivecasing 3 is not a complete seal but only a protective covering for theinterior parts. I provide it with vents or breather openings in thepresent form of horizontal slots 4i extending across the side walls andpart of the front wall and through which air currents can pass.

The means for withdrawing the liquid, as such, from the distributingtray consists essentially of a wick 33 having one end immersed therein.It proceeds thence upwardly, outwardly and downwardly below the liquidlevel being supported by a rigid goose-neck tube 34. The outer end ofthis tube is threaded but engages loosely in an enlarged un-threaded"socket in the upper hexagonal portion 35 of a sleeve 36 having anexteriorly nut 38 holds the double cone head 39 of the drain or conveyortube 8 to a seat in the lower end of the sleeve so that a drip passageis formed from the end of the wick and the goose-neck through the sleeveto the drain. The portion of the goose-neck in part 35 of the sleeve isspaced from the walls of the latter by its threads so that this partacts as a drip cup to prevent seepage from the wick from reachingexterior parts.

It is obvious that the higherthe wick 33 is elevated, the smaller therate of the capillary flow into the sleeve 33 and the drain 8 will be,and the lower it is disposed, the greater the feed will be. goose-neck34 sits loosely in the portion 35 of the sleeve, I provide a nut 40 on.the threaded portion which bears on top of the sleeve and, in reality,supports the goose-neck. Hence, by adjusting this nut one way or theother, the tube can be raised and lowered and the capillary climb of theliquid through the wick thereby increased or decreased at will.

The tube 34 can also be swung about in the.

sleeve to dispose the immersed wick end at a convenient point in thedistributing tray I6 to accommodate it to the other parts occupying thesame. For instance, in Figs. 6, 8 and 9, it is shown encircling thevalve stem within the evaporating felt 33 while in Fig. 4 it is shownforwardly on the outside of the felt wall.

On the broad aspects of the improvements I have made, details ofconstruction may be modified without departing from thespirit ofvention.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a device of the character described, the combination with a backplate and an abutting casing hinged at the top thereof to openoutwardly, of a detachable reservoir supported by the back plate andhoused by the casing, and means on the latter engaging either thereservoir or casing alternatively to act as a retainer for holding thereservoir in position and to act as a detent for holding the casingopen.

2. In a device of the character described, the combination with a backplate and an abutting casing hinged at the top thereof to open outmy inwardly, of a detachable reservoir supported by As the outer end of thewick supporting moved, to be raised into engagement with the casing tohold the same in elevated open position.

3. In a device of the character described, the combination with a backplate, a distributing pan supported thereon, a hollow cover-like casinghinged to the top of the back plate and a detachable and replaceablereservoir in the form of an inverted bottle retained against the backplate above the pan in a manner permitting its vertical movement thereonand its reception into the casing when the latter is raised, of anautomatically closing check valve at the mouth of the reservoir havingan extension normally engaging the pan and holding the valve'openthrough the Weight of the reservoir and its contents when the device isin operation, and supporting means consisting of a forked bracketextending from the back plate and engaging the bottleneck laterally ontwo sides, said bracket being arranged to limit the downward movement ofthe reservoir and hence the opening movement of the valve.

4. In a device of the character described, the combination with asupport and a reservoir thereon, of a distributing pan beneath thereservoir, the latter embodying a neck projecting into the pan, meansfor regulating the transfer of liquid from the reservoir to the pan tomaintain a predetermined level in the latter, and a vertically disposedabsorbent evaporating and odor dispensing element in the pan spaced fromthe reservoir neck, the pan being provided with means for alsomaintaining the said element out of contact with the side walls of thepan so that both sides of the element are exposed for evaporation andcapillary drainage therefrom is prevented.

5. In a device of the character described, the combination with asupport and a reservoir thereon, of a distributing pan beneath thereservoir, the latter embodying a neck projecting into the pan, meansfor regulating the transfer of liquid from the reservoir to the pan tomaintain a predetermined level in the latter, and a vertically disposedabsorbent evaporating and odor dispensing element in the pan, spacedfrom the reservoir neck, the pan being provided with lugs on its bottomfor maintaining the said element out of contact with the side Walls ofthe pan and the element itself being constituted by a folded piece ofsoft material reenforced to maintain it in such folded position so thatboth sides of the element are exposed for evaporation and capillarydrainage therefrom is prevented.

6. In a device of the character described, the combination with asupport having a drip socket, a distributing pan carried by the supportat one side of the socket and means for maintaining a constant level ofliquid in the pan, of a drain wick having a portion immersed in theliquid and a conducting portion leading upwardly and thence downwardlyout of the pan, and regulatable supporting means for the wick throughthe medium of which the height of the capillary flow may be adjusted,such means comprising a goose-neck tube having an outer threaded endloosely and vertically slidably held in the socket and a nut on saidthreaded end reacting against the support to define the height of thegoose-neck by the extent of projection of its threaded end in thesocket.

'7. In a device of the character described, the combination with asupport, a distributing pan carried thereby and means for maintaining aconstant level of liquid in the pan, of a drain wick having a portionimmersed in the liquid and a conducting portion leading upwardly andthence downwardly out of the pan, a goose-neck tube so supporting thewick, a sleeve supporting the outer end of the tube and fixed to thefirst mentioned support, said sleeve being formed to act as a drip cupfor the wick and tube, and a drainage pipe leading from the sleeve.

CLARENCE W. CROWELL.

